Bookmark
Bookmark (Browser Artefact)
Lesezeichen (Browser-Artefakt)
Bookmarks are the user-saved references to web pages and thus a forensically meaningful artefact: they show which pages were consciously of interest to a person. Unlike the volatile history, they are created deliberately and persist permanently. They give insight into habits and intentions.
History & facts. Browsers store bookmarks together with title, address and frequently a creation timestamp. Unlike the history, which is automatic and transient, bookmarks are a deliberate act — which makes them particularly valuable for assessing interests and intentions. Like other browser artefacts (cookies, history, downloads), they reside in the profile data of the respective browser and can be read out forensically.
Outlook & recommendation. In an investigation, bookmarks are one building block alongside history, cookies and cache, from which a picture of online activity is assembled — ideally placed into a timeline. As with all user-related artefacts, attention must be paid to proportionality and data protection, since deep insights into privacy arise. The term „bookmark“ also denotes the marking of relevant findings in forensic tools — here the browser meaning is intended.